Psalm Devotional
The Rock
Written by Gordon Keddie. This devotional was first published in the May 2011 issue of The Reformed Presbyterian Witness.
Mention “the Rock” in some younger circles and the name of Dwayne Johnson, former pro-wrestler and star of action movies, may come up. Older folks may think of the Prudential Insurance Co., which uses the Rock of Gibraltar as its logo.
In Scripture, “the Rock” is invariably the Rock of our salvation (see Ps. 18:2, 46; 62:2-7; 89:26; Is. 17:10). God is “the Rock that is higher than I” (Ps. 61:2). Speaking of Israel en route to the Promised Land, Paul notes that “they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ” (1 Cor. 10:4).
Psalm 95 is about the foundations of a right relationship with the Lord, who is defined from the outset as “the Rock of our salvation” (v. 1). This presents us with a double call to joyful praise and steadfast discipleship.
A Call to Joyful Praise (vv. 1-7c)
Our most basic calling is to “sing to the Lord” as God’s people. The words “Oh come” and “let us” mean coming to public worship. This is the basic body life of the church. Don’t stay home or sing alone! We are to “shout joyfully…with thanksgiving” and “with psalms”—that is, with happiness in, gratitude for and adoration toward the Lord (vv. 1-2).
Why praise God? There are two reasons. The first is that he is a great God (vv. 3-5). He is “above all gods,” which, as John Calvin says, are “the mere fictions of the brain.” The true God is the Creator and sustainer and “a great King over all the earth” (Ps. 47:2).
The second reason is that He is our God (vv. 6-7). It is our inestimable and undeserved privilege to belong to Him by His free grace. Specifically, we are “the people of His pasture”—He provides for us. And we are “the sheep of His hand”—He guides us. Put another way, “We are His people and the sheep of His pasture” (Ps. 100:3). God loves His flock and sent His Son to be the “good shepherd” who “gives His life for the sheep” (John 10:11; Heb. 13:20). We have every reason to praise Him joyfully and “worship…bow down” and “kneel before the Lord” (v. 6).
A Call to Steadfast Discipleship (vv. 7d-11)
The appeal is intensely urgent: “Today, if you hear His voice.” Tomorrow never comes so don’t put it off!
A warning follows: “Do not harden your hearts” (vv. 8-11). The incident referred to is that in which the Israelites rebelled against God at Massah and Meribah. The point is that God had done great things for them in bringing them out of Egypt—miracles galore, actually. But when they got thirsty, they reproached God as if He could not be trusted at all. They hardened their hearts against Him. God nonetheless was gracious and miraculously provided water for them from a rock (Ex. 17:1-7). But the rebels forfeited their “rest” in the Promised Land and wandered for 40 years in Sinai.
These verses (vv. 8-11) are powerfully applied in Hebrews 3:7–4:11. The gist of this is that if we are to enter God’s ultimate rest—the heavenly Sabbath rest that remains for the people of God—then “Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience” (4:9, 11). Beware of the practical unbelief of discontent with the Lord, of the consequent hardening of your heart. Do not delay in cleaving to the Lord in a confiding faith and trust. This means trusting in the same Rock that followed Israel in Sinai—the Rock that is Christ (1 Cor. 10:4). An old African-American spiritual pins down the issue:
Way between the earth and sky
I thought I heard my Savior cry…
The rich man died and lived so well
When he died he had a home in Hell
He had no home in that rock, well, don’t you see?
God gave Noah the rainbow sign
No more water but the fire next time
He had a home in that rock, well, don’t you see?
You better get a home in that rock,
Don’t you see?
